Auto Suggestions are available once you type at least 3 letters. Use up arrow (for mozilla firefox browser alt+up arrow) and down arrow (for mozilla firefox browser alt+down arrow) to review and enter to select.

Overview

Baby Bear lives in a home with the Big Bears, and loves to chase butterflies and make mud pies - they make Baby Bear's tummy fill with sunshine. Then, one night, Baby Bear hears a big storm downstairs in the house and in the morning, Baby Bear's tummy starts to feel grey and rainy. How will such a small bear cope with these big new feelings?

This sensitive, charming storybook is written to help children who have lived with violence at home to begin to explore and name their feelings. Accompanied by notes for adults on how to use each page of the story to start conversations, it also features fun games and activities to help to understand and express difficult emotions. It will be a useful book for social workers, counsellors, domestic violence workers and all grown-ups working with children.

Product Details

About the Author

Jane Evans is a Trauma Parenting Specialist and Freelance Trainer. This book has grown from her experiences working directly with children, young people and parents over many years as a respite foster carer, a domestic violence parenting worker, a registered child minder and a family support worker. She wrote the book in response to feedback from parents, carers and workers who wanted a sensitive story to support young children who have grown up around family violence.

Laurence Jackson is an illustrator and qualified Art Psychotherapist. He lives in Wiltshire, UK where he enjoys illustrating and utilizing the arts as a tool for healing.

Table of Contents

1. Dear Child. 2. How Are You Feeling Today Baby Bear? 3. Page-by-page Guide to Using the Baby Bear Story. 4. Activities and Games to Encourage Children to Explore and Learn about Feelings.

Editorial Reviews

I love how this book tells the story of Baby Bear who is struggling with a mixture of feelings relating to domestic violence at home, and am confident that it will assist so many parents, children and child care practitioners post-domestic violence. It is an excellent resource, and very much needed.

Pat Craven

Being able to identify, discuss and label their feelings is an important part of children's personal, social and emotional development, and using this book will make children feel that adults understand and acknowledge their home life circumstances, in a sensitive way. I would fully recommend early years settings and schools to have a copy of Jane's book readily available to share and explore with children.

Laura Henry

Working in children's services one is always looking for resources to use with children who have experienced trauma in their lives. This sensitively written children's book can easily be used by professionals and carers to help children visit, consider and explore their feelings about their difficult life experiences. It is a well written story with the benefit of the "notes for use" which will aid the carer or worker in their task of helping the child unwrap complex feelings that are sometimes deeply hidden. A much needed resource which I believe will be very well received by the foster carers and adoptive parents with whom I work.

Marion Hunt

A wonderful springboard story to help young children who have experienced domestic abuse identify and express their hidden feelings -- age appropriate and sensitive.

Claire Moore

Sadly, many children today live in homes where violence, anger and aggression are commonplace. They are often fearful, anxious and acutely aware of the tension at home. Finding the words to express their feelings is often difficult, just as it is for adults who recognise the signs but do not know how to intervene without distressing the child further. Jane Evan's book bridges this gap, helping the child to understand their feelings and convey this to others while at the same time providing the tools for adults to manage this process in a safe, loving and kind manner.

Linda Borland

This is an excellent book. It is both engaging and easy to understand, and the illustrations bring the story to life, reinforcing its messages.

Children who have experienced domestic violence and trauma often find it difficult to express their feelings and talk about what has happened, which leaves them confused and upset. This book will help such children open up and feel less vulnerable, and I have no doubt that this will be an excellent resource for working with them.

Tina Royles MA

The author, Jane Evans has worked with families and children affected by domestic violence for many years and as a result of numerous requests from parents, carers and support workers she created this book to help adults trying to enable children to make sense of the feelings they experience when they were frightened and confused...I recommend this little book to all working with children affected by domestic violence whatever the setting.

Red Reading Hub blog by Jill Bennett

This picture book for younger children is not about physical child abuse... it is about a little bear whose parents are in a violent relationship and how this affects him... There is much about faces and how people's feelings are reflected in their expressions, and there is also a good section for parents and carers who are working with children experiencing violence on how to use the book.

Healthy Books blog

A valuable and much needed resource for professionals.... The story portrays a range of emotions and complex situations related to anger, fear and violence/ domestic abuse from a child's perspective... Useful questions are provided for professionals to explore and discuss Baby Bear's feelings and behaviour, and follow on activities are included at the back of the book

In Our Hands blog

It is beautifully written and designed by an experienced practitioner to help children aged two to six describe their feelings about domestic violence... It provides a short guide for adults on how to use the story.The author innovatively addresses key issues that children themselves raise in domestic abuse literature; a gentle storybook approach is used that experienced practitioners can use sensitively and creatively with very young children experiencing domestic violence...

Child Abuse Review - Claire Houghton

This book, written by a trauma parenting specialist, is a great resource for anyone working with or caring for young children post domestic violence.

Covering everything from recognising symptoms and obtaining initial diagnosis to living with the condition on
a daily basis, this complete guide to living with and managing Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (Hypermobility Type - formerly known as Type III) has been revised and ...

A Guide to Therapeutic Child Care provides an easy to read explanation of the secrets
that lie behind good quality therapeutic child care.It describes relevant theories, the 'invisible' psychological challenges that children will often struggle with and how to develop ...

Anne's sister Becky was born in 1958, long before most people had even heard of
autism. Diagnosed with emotional disturbance, Becky was subjected for much of her childhood to well-meaning but futile efforts at rehabilitation or cure, as well as ...

AutiPower! presents a series of candid interviews with adults on the autism spectrum that offers
a unique insight into their work and life experiences. Through these inspiring accounts we hear of the many ways that people with autism have overcome ...

For a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), even everyday activities like brushing your
teeth, washing your hands or visiting the doctor can cause anxiety and stress because of the sensory, cognitive and communication impairments they experience.Caring for Myself ...

A balanced lifestyle enhances health, happiness and wellbeing. With practical techniques and strategies, this book
explores how this balance can be found and how stress and anxiety, which are linked to being overworked and over busy, may be alleviated. It ...

Martha Kennedy Hartnett is the mother of a child with Asperger's Syndrome who made the
courageous choice to homeschool. Emerging from the author's personal experience, this book is a step by step account of successful home education.Choosing Home will take ...

Care of older people is a major issue in the UK, crossing the boundaries between
emotion, practical issues and economics. Yet many current concerns, and much conventional planning, are based on outdated assumptions or misunderstandings about the nature of ageing. ...